California Scheming: A Todd Gleason Crime Novel

Todd Gleason just can’t catch a break. Even when he’s enjoying leisure time on the island of Bermuda—in the capable hands of the lovely Lana Davies—he cannot escape his questionable past. Said past arrives in the seductive shape of Cindy Scanlon, whom Todd refers to as “the only one who got away.” Turns out Cindy married his best friend, Patrick, and then the duo upped and moved west to the sultry allure of Hollywood.Seems Patrick has gone missing and Cindy wants Todd to find him. There’s a catch, of course. Patrick is on the run from his corrupt boss, trying to scare up a fortune he owes. Ever the hopeless dreamer, Patrick has a lead on three million dollars in missing money, stolen years ago from banks all over the greater Los Angeles area. The renowned thief, dubbed “Fast Cash” by the media, disappeared years ago and has never been heard from since. His loot was never recovered.Todd is impervious to Cindy’s request. The idea of finding that three mill, though, promises its own motivation. As Todd heads to New York City—Patrick’s last known location--Cindy returns to California, only to find a dead body floating in her pool—along with a load of cash. Someone is trying to make serious trouble for Cindy, and the list of suspects is nearly as long as the L.A. phone book.There’s the widow Cashman, who is only now getting around to having her husband declared legally dead. There’s Beverly Mills of Beverly Hills, a blowsy kind of lady the likes of which high society rarely accepts. There’s Langston Livingston, the cruel loan shark with a penchant for inducing pain. There’s Fred and Barney, partners in life—and crime—who are seemingly available to the highest bidder. Toss in a couple of seasoned L.A. cops, a treasure map marked with an “X,” and a couple of well-kept secrets, and suddenly Todd finds that life in Los Angeles is not as sunny as the press would make it seem. Everyone’s got an agenda.